Saturday, June 12, 2010

* We got a new washing machine this week because the other one started spilling water all over the floor. Our experience getting it delivered was horrible but the new machine is glorious. It spins the clothes so well that even though we don't have a new dryer, the clothes dry in far less time than they used to.

The washer is a happy little washer and sings a short little song when you turn it on and a longer song to let you know when your load is done.

YouTube saved me from having to record that little ditty myself!

*My family makes fun of me and my husband because we don't think twice about long roadtrips. They like to say we'd drive hours for a burger just to turn around and come back and they're probably right. We drove to albany and back on thursday to pick up my SIL and niece so they could be here a day earlier.

It was totally worth it because this little girl is better than a burger and when you combine her with a third trip (in three days) to the scooper bowl, that's about as good as it gets!

* I don't mind that I went to the scooperbowl and paid for 3 days because it goes to the Jimmy Fund and Cancer sucks. And Ciao Bella was there.

*If you like "that's what she said" then you'll enjoy this. Alfred Hitchcock was so before his time!

*In preparation for the new washer, SIL and I cleaned out and repainted the laundry area and the sorted through plethora of cleaning bottles and aparatus that lined the shelves. In doing so, in the far back we found these.

There were more, but these were the funniest I thought. Any guesses on what year these were from? I'm curious to see how your guesses match up with ours!

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

The past few weeks have been crazy. The proverbial roller coaster of ups and downs. Since my last post I've attended two different funerals. The first was for my pastor. The second was for my Great Aunt. Both of these depressing events were sandwiched between wonderful, fun experiences. The night before my pastor's funeral, I went to a rock concert with two friends and we had a great time and made some great memories. The days after were spent happily again, cooking, hanging out, celebrating the holiday and enjoying life. This saturday my Aunt passed away somewhat suddenly, also from cancer. Her services were yesterday and today and yesterday and today I went to the Scooper Bowl on Boston City Hall Plaza.

I spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not it was appropriate to do these things and came to one conclusion, they would have wanted me to. At the very least, I doubt either of them would have minded and here's why. Both my pastor and my aunt were wonderful people. They were devoted and kind people and as much as they were different, they shared a lot of the same important traits. They were both so invested in their churches. They were both kind people, the sort of person that makes you feel a little better when you talk to them. But what they really shared was their sense of community and their importance in relationships. After my pastor's funeral, I felt like crawling into bed and not getting out until things made sense again. But I realized that in doing that I wasn't respecting my pastor. He was all about doing things together and building meaningful relationships, he would not have wanted me to skip the opportunities for that for any reason. My Aunt too emphasized relationships with her family and although I didn't know her as well as I would have liked, I know enough to know that, as a teacher herself, she would not have begrudged me chaperoning a group of kids to celebrate their moving up or getting together with a close friend I have been missing.

Both my pastor and aunt were, to me, good people. They put what really mattered first and that was always people. I have no doubt that world is a sadder place without their smiles and love to brighten it, but I know that as we move forward, that reflecting on the way that they lived their lives and trying to emulate that goodness and community building is a far better way to respect their memories than holing ourselves up and stewing over the unfairness of it all.

And another thing, the Scooper Bowl benefits the Jimmy Fund and I'm up for anything that tries to beat down cancer. I've had more than enough of it taking people I care about.

About Me

I am 25, married, have one son and another on the way, I started keeping this blog for myself, as a way to document my life because I enjoy looking back on what I've written a few years later, but that got boring outrageously fast. I swear, sometimes a lot. I try to use euphemisms but that's a lot of work. I blame it on my mother-she's in construction.